Mold FAQ: Answers for Inwood, NY Homeowners, Renters & Landlords

Moisture. In Inwood that usually means tide or storm water against foundations, sewer or storm drain backups on low streets, plumbing leaks, roof leaks and ice dams, or summer humidity in closed-up basements. Mold spores are everywhere; they only grow where there’s water.

Mold can begin growing on wet materials within 24 to 48 hours, which is why the EPA advises drying wet building materials and furnishings within that window.

Color alone doesn’t tell you much. Several common indoor molds are dark. According to the CDC, mold exposure can cause a stuffy nose, sore throat, coughing, wheezing, burning eyes or a skin rash in some people, and people with asthma, mold allergies, weakened immune systems or chronic lung disease are more sensitive.

A musty, earthy smell usually means mold is growing somewhere hidden: behind drywall, under flooring, inside a wall cavity or in a crawl space. The smell has a source, and finding the moisture is the first step.

White, crystal-like deposits that crumble to powder are usually efflorescence, mineral salts left as water moves through masonry. Fuzzy, spreading or discolored growth is more likely mold. Either way, water is getting through the wall.

The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally between 30% and 50%. A dehumidifier in the basement is one of the simplest ways to get there in humid South Shore summers.

If you or your family have symptoms that improve when you’re away from home, talk to your doctor, and have the home checked for moisture and mold at the same time.

Eight steps: a phone call, a visit to find the moisture source, an independent assessment and plan, containment, removal and cleaning, drying, independent clearance testing, and a plan to keep the water out. See our mold remediation process.

Sealing the work area with plastic sheeting and running HEPA air scrubbers to create negative air pressure, so spores stay in the work zone instead of spreading through the house.

For most smaller, properly contained jobs, yes. For larger projects, or if someone at home has asthma, a weakened immune system, a newborn or a pregnancy, staying elsewhere during the work can make sense.

Small, contained jobs can be quick. Larger projects take longer because containment, removal, drying and clearance testing each take time, and drying can’t be rushed.

Almost always because the moisture source wasn’t fixed, or walls were closed up before the framing was dry.

An independent assessor performs clearance testing after cleaning and drying and gives you written results.

It depends on the size of the area, the materials affected, where the mold is, what kind of water caused it, and whether independent assessment and clearance testing are required. Call (516) 823-2123 and we’ll explain what your situation likely involves.

Generally only when the mold came from a sudden, accidental event, like a burst pipe, that was reported promptly. Long-term leaks, humidity and outside flooding are generally excluded, and many policies cap mold coverage. More on homeowners insurance and mold in NY.

Outside flooding needs a separate flood policy such as NFIP. FEMA says NFIP won’t cover mold damage if the policyholder didn’t take reasonable steps to prevent it, unless officials banned entry to the area or floodwater kept you from reaching the home.

Photos and video before anything is moved, dates of the water event, drying records, moisture readings, and the remediation plan and clearance paperwork.

Parts of it are. Nassau County has named low-lying areas of Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Hewlett, North Woodmere and Woodmere as flood-prone after major storms. Check your address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center and read our guide to Inwood flood zones and mold risk.

Residents along Bayswater Boulevard, Davis Avenue, Chestnut, Maple and Walnut roads and Peppe Drive have described flooding at full-moon high tides, and the Town of Hempstead has planned road raising, check valves and drainage work for the area.

It’s possible. During Sandy in 2012 the USGS gauge on Jamaica Bay at Inwood recorded a record water level above FEMA’s 100-year flood elevation. Homes that were pumped out but not professionally dried can hide damage in framing and subfloors.

Stay out of standing water near outlets, take photos and video, remove standing water and wet items, start drying with fans and dehumidifiers, don’t close up wet walls, and call so someone can check what’s still wet inside walls and floors.